Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Tuesday, November 4, 2008: A Tough Week

It’s hard to believe a month has already passed since Kristi’s last blood work. Time flies so quickly. These are tough weeks for our family. As much as we try not to think and worry about it, we do. Kristi is really quite tired of the routine. She was quite down at times this weekend and yesterday. Please hold Kristi up in prayer.

Also, Ashley told us last night that she is “scared the cancer is coming back”. It’s amazing how much she has grown up the past 2 years. She really understands so much more now than she did when Kristi was first diagnosed. She finally opened up over the weekend and told us something she never told us before. She told us that last summer she was “angry at God for giving you cancer”. This is a big step for Ashley to open up and talk to us – she has never done that before. We tried and tried last summer to get her to talk but she wouldn’t. Out of this entire ordeal, the toughest part to handle is the effect on the kids. Something like cancer or ALS can be a defining moment for a child’s walk with our Father. Please pray for Ashley, Nathan, Emily, Zach and Maddie as they are being forced to face difficulties that children shouldn’t have to. These next couple of years will probably have the biggest impact in their walk with God. Please pray that they understand that God is in control always and that He will lift us up and support us. It must be so hard for children to understand that.

Please pray that the recent trend in Kristi’s CA125 level stops going up. It is entirely possible for it to start to recede. We’re praying that the recent upward trend is only her body still reacting to everything it’s been through the past 2 years. But whatever the result, we know that God is in control. I read the following in my morning devotion: “The advice of Ecclesiastes may seem trite till we remember that true joy and goodness are rooted in a relationship with God. The Lord sustains us through all the contrasting events of a life that runs from birth to death.” How true that is!